ghettoManga: October 2008

Jim Mahfood strikes comics gold with his new 2 part mini Kick Drum Comix. i saw the 2nd issue on the new comics rack this week and couldn't resist snagging both issues. whether going for shock-and-awe, skater nostalgia, or sci-fi parody, 'Food uses a splashy, messy style to compliment stories that have a spontaneous, off-the-dome feel. on this go-round, Food One enlists the aid of friends who add magnificent, trippy color to these imaginitive stories of hip hop gone horribly wrong.

even as a fan of his work, i've always found Food to be more bold in content than in style, but this shows a leap in execution, with Food leaving it all on the court (sorry about the NBA metaphor, i just watched a double-header...). Food's first original comix in a minute turns out to be his most daring as an artist!
Kick Drum Comix, a 2 issue miniseries from Image, is in stores now... COP IT!
holla!
-ghettoManga.com

Quote of the Day

"they told a nigga 'reach for the sky'
it's too high.
everybody wanna piece of the pie
it's too dry to slice..."
-Black Thought

fiendin' for ghettoManga merch?

Cafe Press, the host for our merchandise shop is having a sale where you can get $5 off of purchases of $50 or more until the end of the month (perfect if you were lookin' to order that Paytriotic print set...). so get some early Christmas shopping in, or splurge for delf!

whether you cop teeshirts, mugs, hoodies, or whatever, just enter the coupon code LOOK50 when you check out and you're straight!
uno.
-gM

Deviant of the Day

fresh Halloween joint from LazeeDog, a crazy-talented cat from DeviantArt.com
uno.
-gM

Do it BIG!!!

Gigantic #1

Writer: Rick Remender

Penciller: Eric Nguyen

Colorist Matthew Wilson

Cover Artist: Eric Nguyen

Genre: Action/Adventure

Features: Preview

It was a beautiful spring day in downtown San Francisco before a gigantic armored alien appeared from out of nowhere and began smashing things all to hell! Who is this invader? Why is he being attacked by strange alien beings? And why is he so GIGANTIC? A twist on The Truman Show, Gigantic focuses on a brainwashed, alien superhero deposited on Earth to be the spotlight of an intrusive, around-the-clock television program being filmed without his knowledge.

Critically acclaimed writer Rick Remender (Fear Agent, The End League) teams up with groundbreaking artist Eric Nguyen (X-Men, Sandman) in the merging of big, visually exciting art with a story examining America's consumer-based culture.

Sci-fi thrills and superhero action from the one and only Rick Remender!

Publication Date: November 05, 2008

Format: FC, 32 pages

Price: $2.99

Panther Power on the Hour for the Rebel in You!

WHAT DID I TELL YOU? i put Black Panther #39 on the BegBorrowSteal list and it went to a reprint, and now that the three-issue story is over, it was one of the HARDEST stories of the year! Issue 41 sees African priest-king T'challa the Black Panther and his Queen, Ororo (yes, Storm married the Black Panther... get caught up here), captured and brutally tortured by the evil invading army of the Skrulls. of course, this is all according to T'challa's plan...
i'm sorry, WHAT?!? Writer Jason Aaron and artist Jefte Palo came out of nowhere and hand-crafted a definitive Black Panther story. go to your comic shop TODAY and buy issues 39-41 of Black Panther. this is the Panther how he should be done...
uno
-gM

International, Playa...

canadian hip hop manifesto Song of Songs is a comic i've been following online for some time. but i just never got around to ordering it until now (i mean, i just ordered the first six issues about 90 seconds ago!) as much as i DON'T like to get caught sleeping, i just kept putting off buying this book. i ALWAYS have a list of books a mile long i wanna order, and SOS kept falling through the cracks. but today, peeped the ten page sample of issue #4, and i couldn't justify putting it off one second longer! after all, any comic with the balls to spend ten pages showing a group of kids rocking out watching an emcee named "Extravagangsta" spit deserves my support, seen? once i get my issues, i'll review the book overall, so keep your eyes peeled. but if you wanna preview the book for yourself, go here.
uno.
samax
gM

that new Mos...

just the news that the mighty Mos Def has a new record comin' has me straight geekin', so when i say this joint is the bomb, i admit there may be a little bias on my part. peep it for yourself and tell me if i lied.
uno.
ghettoManga.com

sad-face Kanye

click the pic to download that new Kanye single Heartless...
from Ye's new plate 808's and Heartbreak
uno.
ghettoManga.com
comics.hipHop.news.art.culture

if Mos Def was President

Tony Stark Doesn't Care about Black People!

Iron Man star Terrence Howard got the boot from the super-popular superhero franchise because he wanted too much money... or so the story goes... "the contracts that we write and sign aren't worth the paper that they're printed on..." said Howard, in an NPR interview, denying that he was vying for more scrilla.
As far as i know, Howard is being replaced in IM2 by Don Cheadle (Traitor, Ocean's 11, Hotel Rwanda, Devil In A Blue Dress)

, but DC hasn't released a statement yet... whoever portrays Jim Rhodes in the next Iron Man will be suiting up in the souped up Mark II armor in an increased role as War Machine, just like he did in the comics when Tony was too sauced to fly...
uno.
ghettoManga.com
comics . hipHop . news . art . culture

Scarface is TOO through with you...

(Click the cover to download the title track FREE, or press play to peep it now!)

Emeritus, Face’s last solo album will hit stores on December 2nd.
keep your eyes peeled fam... meanwhile, he drops serious knowledge on the campaigns going on right now:

uno.
-gM

R.I.P Dolemite

R.I.P Rudy Ray Moore (March 17, 1937 - October 19, 2008)
O.G. blaxploitation comedian Rudy Ray Moore died this week in Toledo Ohio. the accomplished stand-up comedian is best known as Dolemite, the fast-talking pimp and all-around badass from the films Dolemite and The Human Tornado.
Moore transcended the genre, and remains a fan-favorite to this day.
He was 82.
uno.
ghettoManga.com
comics.hipHop.news.art.culture

don't be hard, be easy!

as the temperature's dropping taking the economy with it, we need to remember to take it light and enjoy life as it comes. that's wisdom for the hip hop generation from... the RZA? yeah, but under the moniker Bobby Digital, so that's what's up!
peep:

Drama by Bobby Digital (feat. Thea and Monk)
-gM

coming in January

BLACK LIGHTNING: YEAR ONE 1-2
Written by Jen Van Meter
Art and cover by Cully Hamner
Jefferson Pierce returns to his old stomping grounds – the infamous Suicide Slum of Metropolis – in order to bring some hope to the residents of his downtrodden former neighborhood. He'll quickly learn, though, that a lawless place sometimes requires a lawless vigilante to drag it into the light. Acclaimed writer Jen Van Meter (CINNAMON, OUTSIDERS) and kinetic artist Cully Hamner (BLUE BEETLE, RED) combine forces to retell the electrifying origin of DC's most honorable hero, the bold and brave Justice Leaguer known as Black Lightning!

Issue 1 on sale January 7; issue 2 on sale January 21 • 1 and 2 of 6 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
go pester your comic shop to order this NOW!
ghettoManga.com
comics.hipHop.news.art.culture

are Green Lantern fans really ready for Common?

based on his appearances in Wanted, American Gangster, Smokin' Aces and the upcoming sci-fi sequel Terminator:Salvation, some bloggers are calling for rapper-actor Common to be tapped to star in the upcoming Green Lantern movie.
is Common really ready to carry a big-budget film? that's some Will Smith isht...
regardless, i would be very surprised if the Green Lantern fan-base let that fly. these cats lobbied harder than Big Tobacco to get (the definitive and very white Green Lantern) Hal Jordan raised from the dead, so i doubt that they will look the other way for Jon Stewart to hold down the first ever GL feature. we'll see...

'Soul Train' Wreck

'Soul Train' creator Don Cornelius arrested for Felony Domestic Violence - Los Angeles Times
i hope it isn't true... these reports get circulated and people are convicted in the media before having the chance to defend themselves...
-gM

Comicbook World #16

Who needs conspiracy theories when you got cold hard facts? The Shadow Factory ,the new book from best-selling author James Bamford (The Puzzle Palace, Body of Secrets) shows how the failure to detect the presence of two of the 9/11 hijackers inside the United States led the NSA to abandon its policy of not spying on American citizens. With unrivaled access to sources and documents, Bamford details how the agency has conducted domestic surveillance without court approval, and he frames it in the context of the NSA’s ongoing hunt for information about today’s elusive enemies.
i know this seems like a Wildstorm subplot, but it isn't. Remember when President Bush and company were saying they needed power to spy on people without oversight or warrants, suggesting we should look the other way because it was to fight terror? On MSNBC, i saw Bamford explain, in detail, how they were indeed spying on ordinary Americans, not terrorists or even criminals. smile, fam! big brother's watching...
uno.
-gM

coming soon...

that dude Charlie "Fab" Goubile is in the kitchen cookin' up Blackbird:Growing Pains #2 (of 3). according to Fab, he's been working on commission work (i.e. stuff you get PAID for!), but is back on his fledgling comic. "the artwork for issue 2 has been done for a while, and it is now in the coloring phase" says the young writer/artist, "Look for the book around the Holidays."
if you slept on the first issue, peep my review here...
uno.
-ghettoManga.com
comics.hipHop.news.art.culture

it's a Dog Eat Dog world

Mankind failed in its first attempt to transcend the Petroleum Age. "The Die Off" killed nine out of ten people worldwide. One hundred and seventy five years later, civilization consists of scattered nomadic tribes, isolated casino-cities, and roving bands of predatory bandits.

This is the world of the Black Dog Clan.

Dog Eaters is an adaptation of Malcolm Wong’s award-winning screenplay, which won three awards at the Screenwriting Expo5 in Los Angeles. The story has been adapted by Sean J. Jordan, and features stunning manga-style pencils from Chilean illustrator, Guillermo A. Angel.
pester your comic shop so Dog Eaters will be there for you when it drops Nov 5th.

-ghettoManga.com
comics.hipHop.news.art.culture

Get Your BOARDS Up!

there's definitely a strong mutual influence between hip hop culture and skater community. that can be heard in the lyrics of underground rappers, or seen in the graf and tattoo inspired skate deck art. peep some examples in the slide show below, from the book Disposable: A History of Skateboard Art
which you can cop by clicking the pic on the left.
-ghettoManga.com
comic.hipHop.news.art.culture

Service With a Smile

Devin Harris gets SERVED by English playground baller Stuart Tanner.

try me and wa-da-da-DANG!

you've heard it all before: the government has a secret project that creates ultra-violent super-soldiers (i believe Mark Millar coined the term "persons of mass destruction") that can be pointed at our enemies... what writer Hector Lima and artist Irapuan Luiz manage to do is breathe life into their action/conspiracy comic The Major by the virtuousity of execution alone! that means it's good... DAMN good...

the Hockey Mom gets no brotherly love in Philly...

Philly does NOT heart Sarah Palin...
ghettoManga.com
comics.hipHop.news.art.culture

Stranger Than Fiction

By Stephen Brown Tue Oct 14, 6:55 AM ET

ROME (Reuters) - Police in Italy are looking into reports that the Naples mafia plans to carry out its threat to kill the author of the best-selling book Gomorra, which has been made into a hit movie about mafia brutality, by Christmas.

Roberto Saviano, 29, has lived in hiding with 24-hour police protection for the past two years since the "Camorra," as the mob in his hometown is known, decided to punish him for the huge success of his book, which is based on his own investigations. (read more on Yahoo! News)

ghettoManga.com

Blokes With Attitude

Help The Police
a little bit different than the NWA classic...
-gM

American Gangster...

Atlanta playwright-turned-director Tyler Perry has opened the first black-owned movie studio in America. i never been a big fan of his films, but if it means there will be more variety in the films we get to make, star in, and view onscreen... i'll live with it!
(read more on the Jungle45 Blog)
-gM

Are You Kidding Me?

Get Free by Edreys

my man goldi had this on his mySpace blog... this cat Edreys kicked the rhymes, then illustrated and directed his own animated video! that's pure ghettoManga right there!!!
uno.
-gM

Classic Jay...

Dead Presidents by Jay-Z

the name(s) you can trust...

my man goldiGold from the ATL hooked up this fly artwork for this Small Eyez/Antonio Dye collab produced by Nicolay and DJ Jamad for the Album available next week. click the pic to download the free single Soul Incredible right now, courtesy of your peeps at ghettoManga.com

the next B.I.G. thing...

trailer for Notorious
-ghettoManga.com
comics.hiphop.news.art.culture

Esquire's Endorsement more anti-McCain than pro-Obama

For the first time in its history, Esquire magazine is endorsing a presidential candidate... sorta. Like former President Bill Clinton, the editors at Esquire found it much more difficult to praise Obama than to trash McCain. now that i think about it, i think they really only had a problem with "Presidential Nominee" McCain, not so much with "Senator" McCain.

here's a few of Esquire's anti-McCain comments:
*"That McCain is now attempting to seize the mantle of 'change' for himself is profoundly absurd. And that he expects the American people to swallow it is profoundly insulting."

*"there is no serious debate to be had over Sarah Palin's preparedness to be president of the United States. Because in fact, she is stunningly unqualified...her selection is the clearest indication yet of the contempt that Senator McCain now feels for the process of governance."

*"nothing John McCain has done or said in this campaign would lead you to believe that anything the incumbent administration has done is wrong -- just badly executed -- and he's saying that now only because public opinion has turned so radically against Bushism and all its works. And the ultimate price of his capitulation is to continue Bushism, in all of its manifestations..."

like the Clintons, Esquire hedges their bets by being sheepish in their support of Obama, insisting that he must be the next President simply because he is the only remaining option that leads away from the disastrous policies of the Bush administration, which "must be ripped out, root and branch, everywhere it has been established, or else the presidential election of 2008 is a worthless exercise in futility. Barack Obama may not be the man to do it, but John McCain, for all his laudable qualities, clearly is neither willing nor able to do so..." and that restoring America to its roots "is the task for the next president. That is the main reason to vote for Barack Obama of Illinois. We strongly encourage you to do so."
uno.
-gM

shoot for the Moon

ghettoManga Award-winning comic book creator Ross Campbell returns with the next chapter his opus OGN series Wet Moon. in Wet Moon 4:Drowned in Evil,

Campbell returns us once again to the sticky southern town of Wet Moon, where we will witness forbidden romance, secret pasts, adventures in babysitting, and a masked vigilante makes her first appearance. preoder the next installment of this splendid graphic novel series here. IF you have still never read it (despite my constant recommendations!), cop Wet-Moon: Feeble Wanderings here.
uno.
-ghettoManga.com
comics.hiphop.news.art.culture

Black Has Nothing to Do With it...

She's voting for Hillary, but don't worry! Obama being black has nothing to do with it...
" it's like Idiocracy but for real."
-my boy Erik
-gM

Quote the Raven...

i was DYING to read this book and i finally got my hands on Blackbird: Growing Pains (1 of 3) with art and story by hot young talent Charlie "Fab" Goubile, and it was pretty good. Goubile builds a familiar origin story, with a few new twists. He combines noirish elements with humor well, and watching the main character grow in both age and prowess is a treat. Goubile has upgraded his art style, incorporating elements that remind me of Jason Pearson and Michael Golden (ALWAYS a good thing!), but i can also see where he is growing in his own direction...
the book's pretty good! i would recommend this book to anyone. if Goubile can keep it up, he will have a hit on his hands! but you need not take my word for it... click on the cover to see preview art and purchase Blackbird:Growing Pains from IndyPlanet.com

-ghettoManga.com

deviant of the day

today's deviant is comicbook artist Brandon Graham aka Royal Boiler. in 2007 he dropped the one-shot Multiple Warhedz from Oni Press, which will be followed up soon by a miniseries. dude is crazy with the images son! peep the fresh Rom spaceknight piece on the left or KRS-Rakim-Soundwave joint below if you doubt the skills!